Lost Soul
by D-D Dreamer
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia sacrificed herself to save her friends from Tartaros. Now, she is a lost soul wandering in a different world. Feeling despair, she meets other people with unique abilities to save souls who call themselves Soul Reapers. They might be the answer to saving her friends' souls and returning her to her world but not everything is as simple as it seems. LucyxHarem
1. Sacrifice

**Hi everyone. I wrote a couple of Fairy Tail fanfiction (ff) but this is a first time for writing a Bleach one. So I apologize if my limited knowledge shines only a little bit in this story. I am mostly writing this ff from the anime. You will have an idea of the setting for both anime once you read the story.**

 **The inspiration struck me as I was reading a couple of really good Fairy Tail and Bleach crossover fanfiction. I thought about what if Lucy's spirit ended up in Bleach's world. Though I must warn you, this story will be Lucy centric as most, if not all my ff, are centered on my favorite heroines. And this ff will be a Lucy harem. Again, this is my first attempt with such a thing as a harem.**

 **I don't know if my attempt is successful but let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and Fairy Tail.**

 **Warning: Characters are going to be ooc. Sorry but I write how they appear and interact in my head.**

* * *

 **Fairy Tail**

Lucy Heartfilia failed to save her friends.

They were swallowed by the black inky stuff that made up Tartaros and she was the only one left standing between three demons, not that it mattered Loke, her lion spirit, and Virgo, her maid spirit, were keeping two of them busy.

"Such a weakling," one of the demons, named Jackal, taunted. He kept blasting her with bombs, damaging her already weakened body. Her magical energy was waning. She didn't know how long she could support both Loke and Virgo. Another blast hit her rock hard in her abdomen causing to kneel over.

With the little energy left, she reached for another golden key at her side.

"No!" Virgo cried. "You don't have enough power to open another gate!"

Lucy shook her head, the movement caused her to wince. She bent over. The water splashed around her bloody and battered frame. The water was high enough to cover her nose and mouth. If she shut her eyes, she could finally join the others…. Except they weren't dead. They were sucked in some part of Tartartos that she couldn't reach them.

She chanted the words as the golden key flashed brightly in her hand. A mermaid with an urn appeared, hovering over the water. Blue eyes assessed the damage before anger engulfed her face.

"What have you done, Idiot, summoning me here when you can barely stand on your two legs?"

Lucy was panting for air. "Not en-ou-gh time." She used what little energy she had left in her arms to keep her from face pummeling in the water.

"Close her gate, Lucy!" Loke called out to her. "Your magic is not stable to have three of us out at the same time!"

She blinked her eyes. There was dark laughter echoing in the air. "Such a pathetic little Fairy."

"What did you say?" the cold voice came from mermaid who wrapped an arm around Lucy, picking up her limp body from the sloshing river.

"Such pathetic creatures. You should join the rest of your friends." The demon leered.

Loke was going to say something when the other demon attacked him. Virgo was busy dodging the attacks from another demon.

"N-ow," Lucy whispered to the mermaid spirit who once belonged to her mother.

The spirit raised her urn, large amounts of water poured from it and stopped Jackal's next explosion.

"I can't keep this up for long. Your magic is diminishing." Again, she raised her urn to pour water out of it. The demon fell down from the slaughter of waves hitting him all at once.

"I-I." Lucy could barely form words. She blinked again.

"There is only one choice, Lucy. You have to break my key and summon the Celestial King."

"Wh-at?" she gasped.

"You must sacrifice-."

"No!" Virgo screamed as she was shoved into the ground. Her battered form couldn't handle the fist from the other demon. She shimmered and disappeared into the celestial world.

"Aquarius, don't let her-." He never finished his sentence. The demon struck him with dark magic, making him vanish into the celestial world too.

"In order to save your friends, you must call on the Celestial King," the mermaid warned her. Jackal came at them with another one of his explosions, but Aquarius was able to dodge it in time.

"B-ut…."

"Stop being a baby."

Moisture gathered in her eyes and she blinked them again. The tears fell into water like droplets of rain. Her vision was blurry as she recalled what happened to her friends. She wasn't able to stop the black stuff from covering her friends and she and Aquarius were the only two left to fight against three demons.

Another explosion sounded not too far away from them and Lucy grunted in pain when the mermaid spirit evaded it.

"Now, Lucy! Break my key and summon the Celestial King!"

The demon's attack hit them and Lucy found herself crashing into the water. Aquarius' limp form was right next to her. The urn had shattered into pieces.

She blinked. A tall form hovered over her. "Such a pathetic little Fairy. Too bad we couldn't play some more with you."

He past her and put his foot on the mermaid's hand. Lucy heard a muffled pain and her spirit's words came back to her. "Don't be useless."

She needed to break Aquarius' key in order to summon the Celestial King in Earth land. However, she would never see her friend again.

She closed her eyes and barely lifted a golden key that somehow remained in her hand. Using the last magical energy she could muster, she broke Aquarius' key. Tears ran down her face in rivulets as a bright light temporarily blinded the demons. Then it fell from the sky, striking through the big block floating in the air. Immediately, the light formed into a stocky masculine frame of the Celestial King. His silver hair, golden armor, a long sword and mustache became clearly visible.

"Y-ou," she panted before allowing her body to slump in the water. The broken key fell from her still hand to sink in the water.

A nasty laugh crackled in the air. "It's too late old rival. The one who summoned you is dying," the man named Mard Geer said. Both demon and celestial spirit looked at each other but with every passing second, Lucy was struggling to keep conscious.

"I…." Her eyes shut tightly. Breathing was becoming harder as the water splashed over her. The liquid was getting into her nose and mouth. She could feel the lower part of her body sinking into the water.

"Sor-ry."

Her last breath escaped her parted lips as her heart stopped. Her body sank into the river along with the broken key while the Celestial King used the last of his magical power to create a white light that scoured through the earth. It was strong enough to free the Fairy Tail members from the black inky stuff that imprisoned them and to petrify Mard Geer into stone.

"I'm sorry, old friend." The Celestial King was fading into nothingness. "I'm sorry." He bowed his head to hide the anguish overtaking his face when two of Lucy's friends arrived at the scene. They were shocked and saddened at what they saw. There was a broken and battered body of a blond girl lying on the river's edge along with a shattered golden key.

The Celestial King vanished, taking the last brightness of Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **Karakura Town**

There were two different worlds. The regular world and the spiritual world.

Not that it mattered to the world of the living, but there were some people, referred to special people who could see spirits that walked among the living. An orange haired teenage guy was one of them as he noticed a feminine form standing in the middle of the street during daylight hours. Her face was tilted upright, giving him a clear vision of her profile. She appeared young, in her teenage years. Her eyes were dark, large, and round. She had quite a curvaceous form as he let his eyes wander down her body. His face tinted with color before looking away.

"You see her, don't you?" Wind plucked at a wayward strand of the raven haired girl standing next to him. She gathered her hair in her hands to keep it away from her face.

"Sure," he said. The spirit lowered her head and glanced around before stopping at them. He saw large pools of brown eyes widening at them. Then he saw the hole in her chest that led to a long never ending chain, except the chain wasn't silver like the other souls he encountered. This soul had a golden chain and the reiatsu was different from any other soul he had met but it was a strong one.

"It's impossible," the girl from next to him whispered. Her dark eyes widened as she took a step toward the spirit.

"What is?" he asked.

"She's not from around here," she said. "Don't you feel her reiatsu and see her chain?"

He nodded his head. As if the figure could sense them moving toward her, she stepped back. The white dress she had on swayed around her bare legs.

"Do you think we should help her move on?" he questioned.

"I would but she's a lost soul."

"A lost soul," he repeated the words. He frowned, not liking the sound of it.

"They are souls who are from other worlds."

The orange haired guy turned his attention from the blond spirit to his friend. "Are you saying there are other worlds besides the Soul Society and wherever dead people go to once the Soul Society deems it's okay for them to pass on."

"Yes."

"Then do we let her wander around?"

"No. If she does, her unusual reiatsu will attract unwelcomed hollows."

"We definitely can't afford that," he said.

He was about to accost the spirit when her eyes widened and she took another step back. Rukia Kuchiki grabbed his arm and stopped him. "We can't startle her either or else she can attract hollows."

His eyes narrowed on the spirit. "So what are we suppose to do?"

"I need to contact the other Soul Reapers in the Soul Society?" She pulled out a cell phone from her pocket.

The strange feminine form retreated further.

His hands clenched into fists while he gritted his teeth. He felt a sudden urge to help the spirit. He tugged at the hand holding his arm.

"Let me go to her. At least let me talk to her."

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Rukia said. "Who knows if she's like the other spirits."

"We'll never know unless you let me try."

He heard Rukia sigh before letting him go. "Approach her slowly."

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Rukia meant well but she forgot that although he might be a Substitute Soul Reaper, he had enough experience dealing with spirits. He saw them and helped some of them move on before he met her that one faithful night.

The strange spirit moved back as he walked slowly toward her. He lifted his hands into the air as a sign of peace in order not to alarm her. He could tell by the widening of her eyes and how she splayed her arms and her legs wide apart that she was waiting for the right moment to bolt.

He stopped a few inches away from her with his hands still in the air. Calmly, he introduced himself. "Hi." He waved one of his hands. "My name is Ichigo Kurasaki. What's your name?"

The spirit blinked her eyes at him. He decided the best way to get her to open up was if he kept talking to her.

"I usually travel here to go to school and I've never seen you before. By the way, you're in Karakura Town. I have been living here all my life." He scratched his head with one hand. The other one went limp at his side.

She looked less panicked and more focused on his words. She brought small fists over her chest as she blinked at him again. Another urge went through him, one to protect her. Usually, he helped souls that couldn't defend themselves but this feeling went beyond those. He could compare the feeling to wanting to protect his friends and family.

"Do you know how you got here?"

He wasn't expecting an answer. She shook her head. Long blond tresses followed her dainty movement.

He swallowed. "Where are you from?"

"Fiore," she whispered. Her voice sounded sweet. It was Ichigo's turn to blink his eyes.

"Fiore?"

She nodded her head.

"Where is that exactly?" He never heard of a place called Fiore. Was is it a place in another country? But then he remembered Rukia told him that this spirit was from a different world.

The blond girl shrugged her shoulders. No longer deeming him a threat, she lifted her face toward the sun. Ichigo's breath caught at the sight. He gulped nervously and laughed sheepishly. The girl's eyes darted to his own. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"Lucy… Lucy Heartfilia."

She removed her hands from her ample chest to clutch at the hem of the white dress.

"Lucy is a nice name," he offered.

A small smiled played on her pink lips. He felt like he should say more things to make her smile. He scratched his head again. What the heck was happening to him?

"Do you know how you got here?"

She shook her head as her eyes went back to stare at the sun.

"You know you can get blind if you stare directly into the sun?" It was a stupid thing to say, but she tilted her head in his direction and a part of him was glad to see another smile displaying on her pretty face.

"The sun rays are so beautiful here like in Fiore," she whispered. He craned his neck to look at the sun but had to partially shield his eyes with a hand.

"It is beautiful. It's funny how I walk down this street every day and I don't take notice of such a simple thing."

"You're not the only one who doesn't notice the simple things they have in their life." Her face turned serious.

What was that statement supposed to mean? Another person came to stand on his side. He saw how the blond girl's figure stiffened.

"I'm sorry." The dark haired girl apologized. "My name is Rukia Kuchiki."

"Lucy," she said.

"I'm sorry for startling you," Rukia said and she lowered her head.

"It's alright. I don't belong here." She raised her arms to emphasize herself.

Rukia and Ichigo frowned. "Why do you say that?"

The spirit smiled sadly as her eyes had a far off look. "I have traveled to different places in Fiore with my friends and never came across a place like this one." She paused. She lifted a hand to the chain dangling from her chest. Her fingers curled around it. "Besides, I never had one of these hanging from me before."

Ichigo gulped. For some reason this spirit made him nervous.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

The spirit shook her head in dismay. Tears sprung in her big eyes. "I failed to save my friends and now I must wander here in this unknown world as punishment for failing them."

Ichigo could hear Rukia's gasp. "So you're aware that you're not from this world?"

"Yes."

Rukia didn't know what to say to that.

"Did you get in contact with anyone from Soul Society?" he questioned as he turned to look at his petite dark haired friend.

"No. I can't get any signal."

So basically, they were screwed over. They didn't know what to do with the spirit in front of them. On one hand they could try to help her move on. On the other hand, they could wait with her until someone from Soul Society came along. However, the golden chain linking the spirit into the real world was only temporary. And the longer they waited, the more this spirit would attract hollows from the spiritual world. She was a sitting duck.

"We can't wait here all day," he said as he clenched his hand into a fist.

The spirit regarded him with a confused expression on her face.

"How about you go to school and I stay here with her?" Rukia suggested to him.

"And if a hollow attacks you, you'll fight it?" he returned with a question.

"That's the plan," she said with a frown.

"You forget that your powers haven't fully returned as yet?"

"You forget that you need me here when you go into your Soul Reaper form."

His eyebrows tugged together as he folded his arms across his broad chest. Rukia was talking about when he turned into a Soul Reaper, his spiritual form left his body and his body was vulnerable to any attacks. He needed someone to move his body while he faced the hollows.

"Then we both stay here with her," he said.

"You don't need to," the blond spirit commented. "I can stay here by myself." Her voice sounded so distant and depressed.

There was something about the blond spirit girl being sad that didn't sit right with her angelic appearance. Ichigo's eyebrows joined together. Since when did he think about her being angelic? He slightly shook his head. He could see Rukia's facial expression and she looked somewhat baffled. Maybe it was a good idea that both of them stayed with her. Her depression might turn her into a hollow since either a depressed or vengeful soul became a hollow once devoured by a hollow.

"That's not a good idea," Rukia said.

The blond girl titled her head curiously at Rukia. "Why not? I've been standing here since the sun came out."

"Well, you're not from around here and there are things that hunt lost souls like you."

What Rukia said must have been a slap to her face. The spirit glanced down at her arms and the golden chain dangling from her chest. Her breathing quickened and her eyes widened.

"I never thought I will become like one my celestial spirits."

"Huh?" Rukia dumbly questioned.

The blond girl reached for something in her pocket and took out a rusty ring with rusted objects hanging from it. The rusted objects appeared to be keys. Liquid falling on the blackened keys caught his attention and he looked back at her with astonishment. She was crying.

"These are my friends too," she said almost too quietly for him to hear.

Had she gone crazy? How could keys be her friends?

"I have a magical ability to summon spirits from the celestial world. These are keys to unlock them from that world."

He blinked his eyes several times. Magic. Keys unlocking a celestial world. It all sounded like the girl went bonkers before she died.

"Hey Rukia?" He elbowed his friend. "Are you sure she's from a different world?"

His friend nodded. "Look at her chain. Have you seen other spirits with the same color?"

"No, but it sounds like she's gone crazy."

Rukia hit her forehead with a palm and sighed, then she hit him on the head.

"You do know she can hear you."

"It's okay. Maybe I am crazy. I mean how did I get here to begin with? It has to be a part of my imagination."

"Look what you did," Rukia hissed. Ichigo backed away from her. The last thing he wanted was to get her vex. Nor did he appreciate the spirit second guessing herself.

He raised his hands in the air. "I didn't mean that and you are in a different world."

"I know different worlds exist," the blond girl said. "I've been to Edolas." She began counting the different names on her fingers while tears were falling from her eyes. "The Celestial World, and my future me went back in time. But then again, I can hope all of this is a dream."

He couldn't help but wonder where she came from if she could time travel.

"However, it doesn't matter now. They're all gone. Everything is lost. I don't even have her key anymore."

"Whose key?" Rukia questioned, sensing the spirit was at her breaking point.

"Aquarius," she answered.

"Who?" Ichigo broke in.

"I sacrificed her key to summon the Celestial King and it was all in vain." Then she collapsed on the ground. She quietly sobbed about failing her friends.

Ichigo had friends, who were special like him. They could see hollows and the wandering souls who weren't ready to depart into the Soul Society. If he lost one of them…. Heck, he blamed himself for many years for killing his mother when it was a hollow who was responsible. The burden he walked with all those years and the grief plagued him. He could only imagine a little bit of what she felt.

"Look, now you did it. You made her cry," Rukia hissed at him. She hit the back of his head, causing him to yelp.

"I didn't mean to," he said while rubbing the sore spot where she hit him.

"Whatever. You need to be more understanding. Be less grouchy and be nice for once." Okay, maybe he deserved to be lectured by Rukia. A lot of people tended to tell him he was too serious for his own good. But he was an older brother of two sisters, and he had a weird father. In a way, he had to grow up and be the mature one.

Rukia knelt by the spirit's side and began patting her head. She said words of encouragement, which was rare, considering she was a Soul Reaper. Most of the time she was solemn and thoughtful. It was in perilous situations he was able to get some idea of her thoughts.

All of a sudden Rukia and the blond girl stilled. He felt it more than heard it. A strong spiritual aura reeked the atmosphere. All around them got too quiet. He stood his ground as he looked around him.

There was nothing.

He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He tried to sense the spiritual aura's location.

Still there was nothing.

"Rukia, did you bring the glove?"

She already had the black glove on. Before he saw it coming, she pushed at his body until he felt his spiritual form leave his body. His body slumped over in her arms.

The crying girl peered through her fingers. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hands while stumbling to her feet.

Wariness pricked over his senses. The acrid spiritual presence wreaked havoc to a point he couldn't sense it. Since when did hollows become strong or even get brains?

He drew his zanpakuto from its sheathe. The blade felt at home in his hand although it was big for its size. The sword was only big due to him having large amounts of reiatsu.

Then he saw a looming shadow by the blond weeping girl. He made to move by her side, but astonishingly, she turned her head toward the shadow and moved out of its way before one of its tentacles could strike her.

He shook himself out his haze and brought his zanpakuto on the withdrawing tentacle. The hollow's scream pierced the air. He skidded to a halt before he saw another one. Rukia was able to drag his body out of harm's way. The spirit was standing next to her. Her round gaze on the two hollows.

"Great. There's two of them."

The hollows turned toward him due to the amount of reiatsu that he was emitting from his frame. If he could distract the hollows long enough, Rukia and the girl named Lucy could get away. The hollows were grotesque, with bulging shoulders and arms. They were enormous in size and black in color. Their faces were covered by white masks with line patterns. Their eyes were beady and red.

He rushed at them as more tentacles dashed at him. He slashed them out of his way with his zanpakuto, his limbs became blurs of movement. Rukia and Lucy were running away with his body in tow but he knew Rukia would return to assist him.

A tentacle breezed past him. Another one caught his left shoulder. Instantly blood welled and began to leak from his injured shoulder as the tentacle pulled away. He grunted in pain. The other hollow moved to strike him, but he evaded it and brought his sword down on its mask. The hollow shrieked as the mask began to crack.

"One hollow down. Another one to go."

He struck his zanpakuto on the other hollow with all of his strength on top of its head, but the blow missed the hollow's face. It jeered and lunged for his throat.

Ichigo reared back and brought the heel of his foot to the hollow's side. He heard something cracked. Then he swiped his zanpakuto to the other hollow's side. It shrieked in pain before stepping back and disappearing into thin air.

Ichigo scanned his surrounding to see Rukia standing beside a building. His body lay on the floor next to her. Only the blond girl was missing. He frowned.

"Where's the blond spirit?" he asked.

Rukia checked behind her and then right back at him. "I don't know. She was here a second ago."

"You've got to be kidding me?"

In an instant, they heard a scream.

Down the street, the hollow held up the blond girl by her throat. She struggled to free herself from its grip while her legs dangled in the air.

"Shit," he muttered. He didn't know if he could make it there in time to save her without her being severely injured. But he had to try.

He dashed down the street, his spiritual energy rising with his intent to kill the hollow. A tentacle wrapped around his foot, making him slightly trip. He caught himself in time and jumped into the air. He slammed his heel into the hollow's face. Part of the mask cracked. The hollow screeched in pain. Ichigo had to cover one ear. A light flashed briefly, causing him to stumble back and to close his eyes. When he opened them, the blond girl was free. A fighter with blond hair punched the hollow with light bearing from his fist. He was long and slender and moved as graceful as a dancer when he twisted and ducked from the tentacle dashing at him.

"Loke," the spirit whispered. She blinked her eyes and shook her head before she peeled away from the fight and hurtled toward Ichigo.

"We can get out of here now. Loke can handle this," she said to him as she grabbed his arm.

"No. I'm a Soul Reaper and it's my duty to destroy hollows," he answered, pulling his arm from her grip. She stared at him with wide eyes.

He turned his attention on the hollow when he saw the newcomer rammed his fist into the hollow's face. The mask crumbled and hollow screamed before it's body began dispersing into nothingness.

The newcomer's suit had dust as he straightened his cuffs, dusted off his black suit and rolled his neck. Ichigo didn't waste time. He sheathed his zanpakuto on his back and he slammed the newcomer to the wall of a building.

Rukia had joined them when the blond girl yelled at him. "Stop! He's not going to hurt you! He's a friend of mine!"

"I thought you lost all your friends."

"I thought so to but he's here. Please stop hurting him," she begged. Ichigo didn't like to hear Lucy pleading nor did he like to see her crying.

"Next time, leave the fighting to me," he warned the stranger.

"I was only trying to protect my mistress."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Mistress?"

"He's one of the celestial spirits I told you that I can summon with my keys." She raised her rusty keys at him, except there was one key that was gold and shiny.

He shockingly stared at it while he let go the stranger. Coming back to himself, he stepped back and examined the spirit's friend. The guy's face was covered by shades. His blond hair shown in the sunlight. Dark intelligent brown eyes peered through the depths of his spectacles. And his aura seemed strange.

This stranger was no ordinary human. He wasn't a spirit like the blond girl either because his chest didn't have a chain.

"Who the hell are you? And how can you see me?" he questioned the stranger. Instantly, his right hand reached for his zanpakuto.


	2. Lost Soul

The blond girl did something unexpected. She ducked and swept Ichigo's feet from under him with her leg. He fell a heap on the floor while she jumped in front of the other spirit.

"No, you don't!" she yelled. "No one messes with my spirits!" She put her hands on her hips while she glared at him, daring him to pull out his zanpakuto.

He blinked his eyes, shocked at the change in her demeanor. She went from sad too fierce as fast as someone turning on a light switch. Even Rukia stared at the blond girl with rounded eyes.

"What the heck?" he asked as he blinked his eyes. He rose to his feet and wiped the dust from his black hakama. Then, he went into the girl's face and yelled, "Why the hell did you do that?"

She pushed her face further to his. Fire was flashing in her eyes. "I said no one messes with my spirits!"

Ichigo took a step back. "I wasn't going to hurt him or anything. I just wanted to know how he's able to see me."

"He's one of my zodiac spirits I can summon from the Celestial World, which means he can see what I can see and there's a fact that he's a spirit so he can see you." Lucy folded her hands across her chest. Instantly, the chain rattled causing him to switch his focus from her face to the hole in her chest. He frowned. "What are you looking at?"

"I was just wondering how is it you have a hole in your chest."

It was Lucy's turn to blink, before she glanced down at her ample chest. Her eyes widened as her cheeks flushed. Then, she screamed. Rukia hit him roughly on the head.

"Ouch!" he yelped. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"You don't ask a girl a question like that," she answered furiously.

"Watch where you look at my mistress," the other unusual spirit warned him. "I won't hesitate to punch you next time."

Ichigo shook his head and he glared at the three figures before he inhaled a deep breath. "I didn't mean to offend you," he finally said to the girl named Lucy. "But you will notice in this world that spirits who have chains attached to their bodies don't have holes in their chest unless they are becoming hollows."

Rukia's dark eyebrows drew together. She put a hand under her chin as she appeared to be deep in thought. "Now, that you mention it, Ichigo, you're right."

Lucy took a step back. Her demeanor changed again as if someone turned off a light switch. Her sudden fierceness was gone. It was replaced by confusion. The orange haired spirit she was protecting instantly moved to her side. Concern was written all over his face as he put an arm around her shoulders. He, too, looked down at her chest and frowned when he saw the hole. "Why in Mavis does she have a hole in her chest?"

Ichigo turned to look at Rukia. She was the person who held all the answers since she was knowledgeable about spirits and hollows. Although, he was a substitute soul reaper, it was a part-time job. "I don't know," Rukia answered after some time. "The only thing that comes to mind is if she in the process of becoming a hollow."

Ichigo's breath caught when Loke turned to angrily face Rukia. Automatically, Ichigo stepped in front of Rukia. His right hand reached for the hilt of his sword on his back. "A hollow? What is that?"

"It must be those creatures that attacked us," the blond girl finally spoke up. Watery brown eyes raised to meet his dark ones. "Am I going to turn into one those things?" Again, Ichigo felt a stirring in his chest, the urge to protect the blond girl.

"I…. Uh…." Ichigo fumbled for words as his hand dropped limply to his side.

"You don't have to worry about that right now. It usually takes months before a spirit turns into a hollow."

He turned his attention to Rukia. "But she isn't a normal spirit."

Rukia glared at him. "I know that."

He raised his hand to scratch his head while he looked uncomfortable. "Doesn't that mean becoming a hollow might be different for her?"

He felt a hostile stare coming from the orange haired spirit.

Rukia inhaled a deep breath. "I hate to admit it, Ichigo, but you have a point."

"Umm… Uh… I don't know what is going on," the blond girl replied.

Rukia titled her head back while she looked up at the cloudy sky. Her hand remained under her chin as she voiced her opinion. "The thing is lost souls are very rare in the Soul Society. No one I know has come across one in their lifetime."

"So, then, how do you know about lost souls?" Ichigo interrupted Rukia with his question.

Her eyes moved to him. "Can you give me a chance to finish?"

He raised his hands in defense but he was shocked when she didn't hit him. Instead she focused her attention on the clouds slowly drifting in the sky.

"As I was saying, when I became a Soul Reaper, I was learning how to control the power from my zanpakuto. Reiatsu was important information for me to study because it helps Soul Reapers harness their powers to understand the form. It was during my research, I chanced viewing an important document, which shouldn't be available to anyone under Captain rank."

"Captain?" Lucy and Ichigo asked in unison. They both looked at each other and blinked their eyes at the same time.

"In the Soul Society, there are thirteen Court Squads and each squad has a Captain. The Captains are in charge of protecting the Soul Society," Rukia answered.

"Oh… I see." They said as they blinked their eyes again at the dark haired girl.

"Like I was saying, the important document had a brief description of lost souls." Rukia looked at Lucy and used her hands to gesture to the blond's body. "The description is stated as you appear. Furthermore, there has been two other lost souls the Soul Society have encountered. Their abilities, though, remains a question."

"At least she didn't draw her explanation," Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me," Rukia huffed. A tick formed on her head before she hit Ichigo on the head again with a fist.

He rubbed the sore spot, wondering how he was still able to think after being hit by the raven haired girl so many times. He shook his head before getting serious. "So, you don't know any more about lost souls?" he asked.

Rukia pinned him with an annoyed look. "Don't you think I would have already taken action?"

Ichigo crossed his arms over his broad chest. A tick was forming on the top of his head while he was trying to think of what to do next. "Damn! I can't think of what to do next!"

Rukia was also lost in thought.

"You can return to the Celestial World, Loke." It was the blond spirit's voice that broke his reverie. Then, an idea popped into his mind.

"I got it!" he announced. "How about we visit Mister Hat and Clogs? He should know something about lost souls."

Rukia nodded her head with a smile brightening her face. "That's a good idea."

"Mister Hats and Clogs," Lucy repeated.

"Oh, it's a name I call him based on how he dresses," Ichigo said as he waved his hand in the air. "He owns a shop with weird things. But he seems to know a lot of stuff about hollows and the Soul Society. He should definitely have some idea about you."

"I think we should get out of here immediately," the orange haired spirit warned. "I feel another omniscient presence."

Ichigo reached for his zanpakuto at his back. His body stiffened as he searched around him for another hollow. Rukia reached for her cell phone and flipped the lid open to detect any other dangerous spirits.

"Since the phone isn't beeping, there aren't any other hollows," she concurred.

"But if the attacks from earlier say anything, we are vulnerable standing out here. We need a place to hide for a while," the orange haired spirit said while his eyes narrowed on the spot where the other hollow held Lucy by the neck. Ichigo did a retake as he wondered if the guy knew something he wasn't sharing with the others. Besides, he noticed it was unusual for hollows to attack as a group. They attacked helpless souls separately and their strength was based on how many souls they could consume. Yet the hollows he and the other guy destroyed displayed an unusual collaboration.

Ichigo frowned. "I think he's right. We should get to Mister Hat and Clog's shop right away."

"I hope Urahara is there," Rukia replied. "I've been trying to get him lately but for some reason he's not answering his phone."

Then a roar pierced the air. Both him and the other guy tensed. The air began to feel heavy. The blond girl's spirit grunted and fell to his knees from the spiritual pressure. Rukia dashed to the girl's side to find out if she was alright. The spiritual pressure caused her to collapse with Lucy. The spirit saw his mistress was in distress and struggled to get on his feet to help her.

"Don't," she gasped. "Help him, Loke." The spirit nodded his head before straightening his body. Ichigo pulled out his zanpakuto from his back and angled the big sword in front of him. He jumped and landed on one of the rooftops of the houses. He scanned the area around him and then leaped down to the ground. He landed on a crouch, his fingertips grazing the rough surface of the cement while his other hand gripped his large sword tightly.

"Did you see anything?" the orange haired spirit asked him.

"No, not a thing."

Another roar rang in the air. The ground began to shake before the cement crumbled into pieces. The hollow became visible and the orange headed guy crashed into a wall of a building. Ichigo dashed at the hollow, bringing down his gigantic sword on one of the bulging arms. The creature shrieked in pain. Ichigo jumped back and skidded to a halt. Beside him, the other spirit straightened himself before smirking.

"That is pretty embarrassing," Ichigo said to him while never straying his eyes from the dark grotesque figure in front of him. The hollow was tall with bulging arms and legs. A white mask with black carvings covered his face. Only beady yellow eyes were visible from behind the mask.

"I can't have that happen again. I have to protect Lucy with all my might." He rushed at the hollow.

"Wait!" Ichigo yelled at him.

The creature swung at the orange head with heavy fists. Ichigo moved in without another thought. As the spirit evaded one of the spirit's fists, Ichigo raised his leg and kicked at the hollow's side. Then, he swiped at the legs with his zanpakutuo. The hollow screeched.

"We have to go for the mask!" Ichigo yelled to the guy next to him. "You attack and create an opening for me! I'll do the rest!"

Both guys jumped back when the hollow retaliated with a roar and swung punches at them.

"Usually, I don't cooperate with anyone who isn't Lucy, but you know how to handle these creatures."

Ichigo smirked. "It's the job of a Soul Reaper to get rid of hollows."

The other guy smirked and put a pointer finger to his spectacles. The lens glinted off the light from the sun. "All right!" He slammed his fists together. "Let's put an end to this!"

The spirit dashed to the hollow, putting his heel down on the hollow's foot. His fist lit up with light before slamming it into the hollow's mask. Instantly, he jumped back.

"It's your turn, Soul Reaper."

"You're right about that." Ichigo lowered his sword but he made sure the blade was facing up. Quickly, he dodged an attack from the hollow and raised his sword up, slicing through the head and mask. The hollow gave one last shriek before it disintegrated into nothing.

Ichigo turned to look at the people around him. Rukia and the blond girl were kneeling near his body. The orange head spirit was standing next to his mistress. Quickly, he assessed the damage and when he noticed no one was hurt, he returned to his body.

"Let's get out of here before more hollows appear," he said as he unconsciously grabbed Lucy's hand and began to lead her away from what used to be a battle scene. Rukia tagged after them with the other unusual spirit.

* * *

The last thing Lucy expected was to find herself in another world. She always believed that after death came nothingness. Her parents' death showed her that, although she did write letters to her mother as consolation.

But if she was still existing in form of a spirit, did that mean her friends were spirits as well? Was there a chance they arrived to the world she was in?

Lucy shook her head as dejection swamped her. There was no reason to build up her hopes to only have it shatter with the mere truth; she would never see her friends again. In fact, the world she drifted into was some form of punishment. Maybe she had to atone for not being strong enough to save her friends.

She shook her head again. No, atonement didn't seem like a possibility. If what the Soul Reaper said was true, she was going to a darker place, which meant her time in the living world was limited. Absently, Lucy's fingers curled around the chain. The rattling caused her to wince.

The monsters who attacked them were frighteningly strong. They didn't have second thoughts of hurting her and the others. Would she become as mindless as them? Would she intentionally hurt others?

Lucy didn't want to think about hollows anymore. Her imagination already ran wild with the different possibilities of her being in Karakura Town and each one didn't bode well.

"Maybe it's because I'm dead everything seems grim," she mumbled. She hoped the others didn't hear her. They already had enough to deal with.

She soon learned upon arriving at Urahara's shop that the blond man was an eccentric along with the kids who worked at his shop. The most bizarre one though was the large, brunette man dressed in an apron. There was a glint in his eyes that even his spectacles couldn't hide the moment Rukia mentioned "lost soul." Instantly his eyes landed on her.

She had to wonder if he knew something about the subject. Quickly, she glanced around her to see if anyone else noticed how he reacted to the word. Rukia was too busy rambling to the blond man wearing a strange striped hat, a dark coat with a green shirt and pants underneath. Ichigo and Loke were watching on with amusement. The kids stepped out from the room and the young girl with pinky tails returned with a tray of hot teas for everyone. The red haired boy who was with her stooped near the sliding door.

The young girl placed the mug in front of her. "Thanks," she murmured.

The girl with pinky tails nodded her head while she brought the tray to her chest.

"Thank you Ururu," the eccentric man said to her as well. She lowered her head as she smiled shyly. She got up and went to the hallway before sliding the door closed; however, Lucy noticed that she stayed with the red headed boy.

"He's a nosy one," Loke whispered to her.

She scrunched up her face at him. He shrugged his shoulders in return.

The eccentric man cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. When the room quieted, he lightly sipped his steaming cup of tea before putting it down on the table. "So shall we get started?"

The Substitute Soul Reaper who saved Lucy's life looked at his friend. Rukia began telling the tale of how they met and everything else that followed it. Lucy's eyes fluttered to the large man with coils in his hair when Rukia mentioned "lost soul." Again, Lucy saw a flash in his eyes. He, obviously, knew something about lost souls and she wondered if he was going to share his information with everyone else.

"That's strange," the man with the striped hat said, catching her attention. He put a hand under his chin as he closed his eyes. "After all this time I have never come across a lost soul."

Automatically, everyone's shoulders dropped. This meeting was a failure. But then the man perked up as he raised his head and opened his eyes. He pounded a fist into an open palm. "But this doesn't mean we can't learn more about lost souls."

"Huh?" Lucy said, trying to catch up with the sudden change in the atmosphere.

It was Rukia who informed her. "When Urahara doesn't have the information right away, he obtains it through research."

"Which means you don't mind if she stays here for a couple of days?" Urahara questioned the dark haired girl.

She frowned. Even Lucy's eyebrows tucked together at the thought of staying with a stranger. He wasn't asking her directly, like if she could make her own decisions. Instead, he was asking someone else. Lucy didn't like this.

She craned her head to look at Rukia but her eyes landed on Loke and she noted that he too didn't like how the eccentric man didn't ask her either. At least someone was on her side. Then she moved her eyes from Loke to the Substitute Soul Reaper and a breath caught in her throat. There was a scowl on the guy's face. His dark eyes narrowed on the owner of the shop and for some reason Lucy was reminded of Natsu's protective nature. She forced herself to look away before she got too emotional.

"I don't know."

"If she stays here, I can gather more information from her." Urahara's attention went to the sliding door. "Besides, she will be safe here. If the hollows are after her, which I don't deny it considering her reiatsu, we can protect her."

"It's not my call," Rukia answered.

"Did the Soul Society contact you?" Rukia took out her phone and flipped it open. Her face dropped at the bright screen. "So you have no word and there is no possible place for her to stay."

"She can stay at my place," Ichigo suddenly suggested.

Everyone turned to stare at him. "What?"

"Your place has no wards for hollows. They can attack any time you're not there."

"But she'll be safe if I'm there," he insisted.

"And I'll be with him," Rukia added. Lucy decided she really liked the Substitute Soul Reaper and his friend.

"Sir, if I may make a suggestion," said another masculine voice. Lucy noticed how he never took a seat with her and the others. Instead he stood aside as he listened to the serious conversation.

"What is it Tessai?" the owner said with a serious voice. Instantly, Rukia straightened up in her seat. Lucy noted how she and Ichigo didn't touch their cups of tea.

"As touching as it sounds that she," he pointed to Lucy as he made his suggestion, "can stay with friends, it's a better idea to have her stay with us. The chain and the hole in her chest are evidence that she will become a hollow and she will attract other hollows. We can slow down her process. Also, take note of her reiatsu. It's unlike any others we encountered. She will be safer under our protection while we gather answers for now."

What he said might have sounded convincing to Lucy had she not witnessed the glint in his eyes earlier. However, she didn't like the idea of staying with strangers nor did she like how he was hiding information from her.

"You do have a point," Rukia agreed to a degree. "But-."

"Lucy will be better off staying at my place," Ichigo said again. Lucy felt her heart flutter in her chest at how the Substitute Soul Reaper said her name. He was motioning to the large man that she had a name.

"And I can't act without orders from the Soul Society," Rukia put in.

"Think about it," the large man continued. "If the Soul Society hasn't contact you yet and you mentioned about seeing a document about lost souls without having a Captain rank, if the Soul Society learns about her, nothing good will come from it."

"What do you mean?" both Loke and Ichigo asked at the same time. Their hands clenched into fists. Lucy could hear their guttural growls.

The large man glanced at Rukia. His face remained neutral but Rukia looked down at her cup of tea. Her fingers curled around the cup but she made no motion to drink the tea.

"Rukia?" Ichigo questioned.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing about?"

"I wasn't completely honest with you," she said with a low tone. Lucy saw how she looked at her with uncertainty the moment she raised her head.

"What do you mean, Rukia?"

"I'm not sure if the Soul Society will let Lucy live."

"Wait, what?" Loke interrupted. Quickly, he stood up from his seat.

Lucy blinked at the dark haired girl.

"She's turning into a hollow and the immediate reaction Soul Reapers have to spirits hollowfying is to destroy them. Lucy will be…."

"No!" Loke growled. "No one will touch Lucy!"

"Loke," Lucy warned. Somehow, she wasn't shocked. After witnessing how much destruction the hollows left in Karakura Town, she could understand the Soul Reapers duty to exercise evil. Hollows were evil spirits who preyed on the innocent and soon she was going to become one of them. A complete monster.

While she didn't voice her concern to the others, she felt a darkness lurking in her soul. The darkness came from the feelings of regret and being a total failure to save her friends in Magnolia. Without them, without Fairy Tail, she felt like she had no purpose. They were her inspiration, her motivation to do what was right. But they weren't here. Natsu wasn't here.

She exhaled a breath.

"Aren't you curious as to how she ended up being here from a different world?" the owner of the shop questioned. His question quieted down everyone.

Loke remained standing while Ichigo bowed his head. The shadow of his orange hair covered his eyes.

"Something I learned from my long years here is nothing happens without a reason." He looked at everyone in the room.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Loke responded. "My soul duty is to protect my mistress from anyone who threatens her."

"We are not the threat," the eccentric man said with a grave voice. "We are trying to piece important information as to why she's here. The information will provide clues for the reason she is here and we can use it to save her from the Soul Society."

"Is there a way we can save her from becoming a hollow?" Ichigo suddenly asked. Everyone craned their necks to look at him.

Urahara was silent for a moment. The silence deafened the room until Lucy put a hand on Loke's pants. She tugged at him to sit down beside her. He cooperated for the moment.

"I can't guarantee one hundred percent that I can save her but there is a way she can be saved."

"Really?" Rukia gasped.

"It's very tricky but Lucy will have to stay with us if you want her to be saved from being a hollow."

"That's fine with me," Ichigo replied, leaving no room for argument.

Lucy didn't like how the others were making calls for her without asking her. But she didn't have to wait for someone to voice her opinion. As usual, Loke defended her. "Lucy's the one to make a decision. Not you." The spirit growled low. She could hear his teeth grinding from anger. If she didn't lay a hand on his shoulder, he was going to throw punches at the people in the room.

"You're right," the large man answered. "Everything is up to her."

All of their eyes landed on her, pinning her down to a point she felt like she couldn't breathe properly.

Nervously, her hands clutched at the hem of her dress. She squeezed the cotton fabric while she bit down on her lip. She hunched over.

Lucy never handled being under pressure properly. That was how she killed her friends and lost her precious spirit. Countless of times she failed her teammates when they depended on her.

Lucy couldn't do anything right.

But there was a possibility things could change.

"In the end it comes down to her. How badly does she want to survive? This is the only way she can be saved but it's all on her," the owner continued where the large man left off.

Maybe Lucy did find a way to finally be with her friends. If she was already dead, what more did she have left to lose?

Lucy raised her head. From her peripheral vision, she saw Loke's body stiffened. Ichigo's dark eyes never wavered from her face. Rukia watched everything with astonishment. "All right. I will stay," she said.

* * *

 **To say I'm shock is an understatement! I'm so grateful for all the positive comments. :) I also love how some of you are willing to share your knowledge about Bleach with me since I'm not an expert. I've been watching the shows and I can't find myself passing episode 317 because of what happens to Ichigo. Gosh, I love him! But my feelings are mixed because I also love Byakuya. He's going to be a challenge to write. His character portrayal seems stoic but he's aloof, confident, quiet, and he's really cool in my book! I can't help but love this guy!**

 **So as you may know, this is my attempt of writing Lucy harem. I will try my best to make the guy characters of Bleach have a good reason to like her. *Crosses fingers.* Plus, what girl wouldn't want their attention? The Bleach guys are hot! *Fans myself.* And hopefully, I will continue to keep your interest. Please let me know what you think so far. Your comments are helpful and encouraging.**

 **And thank you so much to those of you who commented, added this story to your favorite or follow list! Your support means a lot! Thank you! :)**


	3. True Intent

The night Lucy succumbed to sleep, the others finally left to return home. Loke silently crept out of her temporary room to face the other males. The idea of Lucy staying with unknown people didn't bode well for him so he did the next best thing he could think of: scope out the people in Urahara's shop. So far he found nothing interesting in particular as the weird blond laid himself on a cushion and began fanning himself. The other big man with an apron went into the kitchen to prepare snacks.

Loke scanned his surroundings for the children but they weren't anywhere in sight.

"Don't worry about the kids. I send them on an errand that will keep them busy and out of our real conversation for awhile," the blond man said.

"Real conversation?" the spirit questioned.

One eye became visible from under his striped hat. His face turned grim. "Isn't that the reason you're here?"

"I could be sitting here for the extra company," Loke suggested.

"I doubt you're interested in guys, not with how protective you are over her." The spirit didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out who the owner of the shop was talking about.

"I can be overprotective because she is my mistress and she's my friend-."

"Not with the way you look at her or how you put her needs before everyone else."

Loke felt like punching the weird man's face. "She's my mistress," he said gravely.

"Ooh and you make it sound like there's something illicit going on between the two of you," the blond man teased. He shifted forward as his tone quieted in a secretive manner. "Are you both seeing each other?"

Fleetingly, redness blossomed on the spirit's cheeks. He thought of many times he flirted around with Lucy and she pushed his feelings aside like they were a joke. Could he blame her? Before he became her spirit, he wanted to occupy his lonely days with fun since he was planning on dying alone. That meant flirting and dating many chicks. Then, she came like the sunshine after a rainy day. The warmth of the sun felt so good that he was drawn to it. Why else did he seek her out before his time was up? In a way, he was asking her to save him and she did by reestablishing his key.

"So I am right? You do like her? Loke could imagine the eccentric man's eyebrows wagging at his questions.

Loke shook his head. "How I feel about her doesn't matter."

"Oh, but it does."

"No, I just want her safe."

The apron man, Loke decided to call him, came in with three cups of steaming hot tea, cookies and cake. He set the tray on a table. He took a seat on the floor. "Your feelings do matter because what she's going to endure will be mentally and physically painful for her. She needs to be surrounded by people who care for her."

The blond man finally stopped fanning himself and lifted his body to sit crossed-legged across from the spirit. "Wait, are you talking about her reason for staying here?"

"Yes," the owner answered.

He started to feel a cold sense of dread. "What exactly did Lucy agree to when she decided to stay with you?"

"You won't like what you hear, boy." Before the owner could say anything else, Loke was on his feet. He grabbed a fistful on the blond's shirt as he pulled the man before him.

"You better tell me that Lucy will be okay or else I'll make you pay."

From being so close to the shop owner, he could now see the sharpness in the man's eyes. Loke found himself letting the owner go as he stumbled backwards. His whole body shook and he didn't know why.

"Was that necessary, Kisuke?" the other male with coils finally asked.

"It was. Didn't you see what he did to me?" The owner brushed some invisible dust from his shirt and returning to his easy-going self.

"What just happened?" Loke found himself asking as he sat down on his knees.

"What you felt and reacted to is a little bit of his reiatsu," the man with the glasses and well-groomed mustache replied.

"That was a little bit?" Loke blinked his eyes. He barely felt anything yet he reacted strongly. Who exactly was Kisuke Urahara? Obviously, he was more than a shop owner with knowledge about other worlds. And this was the hands he and the others left Lucy in.

"Don't worry. I won't harm you or your mistress," the owner tried to reassure him. It was like trying to say to a canary that a cat wasn't going to eat it.

"You expect to me to believe you after that little stunt?"

"Hey, you were out of terms to attack me out of the blue."

"After the way you talk about Lucy going through extreme pain. How am I suppose to act?"

The weird man held up his hands in surrender. "You have a point. Just hear me out?"

Lucy already agreed to stay at Urahara's shop. He might as well let the owner fill him in as to how he and the other burly man could help Lucy. When he made himself comfortable as one could get in a lion's den, and for him to think that when he was a lion spirit was saying something. He sighed to let the others know he was listening.

"You fought the hollows, therefore, you know how dangerous they can be. Your mistress isn't only a lost soul. There is a hole in her chest, which symbolizes that she harbors dark emotions and if left untouched she will become a hollow. Furthermore, we are unsure of what kind of hollow she will transform into but being a lost soul I assume she will be more powerful than the hollows in Karakura Town."

Loke listened intently while he fixed the shades on his face.

"To prevent such a crisis, we have to alter her power."

"Her power?" Loke's eyebrows touched together on his face.

"Well, her aura is strong. This explains why the hollows are attracted to her."

"But her powers are different from the boy and girl who were here earlier with us," the lion spirit pointed out.

"Then we have to change her powers into that of a soul reaper," the owner confirmed.

"But that's not going to be simple. Lucy would never agree to give up her magic to have another power. Her spirits are more than just tools in battle." Loke shook his head. He could see Lucy's stubbornness with keeping her keys close to her.

"Changing her powers is the only way for her to remain undetected for the time being," the owner offered.

Loke wasn't following along with the owner's line of thoughts. "What are you getting at?"

The weird man put a fist under his chin as he appeared deep in thought. "Rukia contacted the Soul Society and notified them about a lost spirit. They will pursue and apprehend her and if they get their hands on her, they will execute her."

His eyes widened behind his spectacles. He glanced at the cup of tea a foot away from him. A sip would clear his throat. He moved toward the tea and drank some of the hot content. When he felt calm and composed, he put down his cup. He stared at the blond man and then his companion.

"Lucy consented to staying here under the wishes that you can help her. Due to her decision, I will respect and support her in whatever she has to do to prevent into turning into one of those hideous creatures I fought. However, you should inform the pros and cons of her situation so she won't be blindly walking into something dangerous."

"I respect your wish," the owner said.

Then Loke turned his attention to the brunette man who listened quietly to their conversation. "Thank you for the tea and snacks." He expressed his gratitude to prove he still had some decency left, although he didn't like being housed by strangers who held secrets. After their discussion, trust with the party was going to be an issue. Gracefully, he rose to his feet and was about to return to the room Lucy was sleeping in when the apron man halted him.

"I have another room prepared for you."

Loke craned his neck over his shoulder and smiled simply at the big man. "No thank you. Staying near Lucy will keep my mind at ease."

He turned his head and continued his trek to Lucy's room but he could have sworn he heard the owner say to his companion, "See Tessai, you can't separate that boy from his crush."

* * *

Darkness. It was overwhelming to the point that Lucy was surrounded by it. She couldn't see the hands she put out before her face and or glance down at her feet.

Everything was covered in darkness.

Quivering in fear of being in the dark alone, her mouth opened but her vocal cords refused to work. She paused to swallow and then tried again. This time her voice sounded low and hoarse to her ears.

"Loke?"

There was no answer.

"Loke?" she iterated.

Again, there was no response.

Her breathing began to escalate as her heart rate increased. The idea of being alone in an unknown place was causing her emptions to spiral out of control. She did the next best thing to try to ease her distress, talk to herself.

"What is the last thing I remember?" She stilled. "That's it. If I make noise while talking, someone ought to find me or I can luckily get out somehow."

Hope blossomed in her chest. "I was in a different place where I meant strange but kind people who are willing to help me."

A small smile graced her lips. "I met a guy, his name is Ichigo Kurosaki. He's a soul reaper and his friend Rukia, from what I gathered is one too. Loke and Ichigo are amazing when they fight together." Her smile stretched wider on her face. "They'll make a great team."

And as if something responded to her, Lucy started to see lights illuminating in the darkness. She tilted her head back to see where the light source came from when she froze. Her mouth gaped open at the twinkling light sources above her. It reminded her of a starry night.

"Beautiful," she whispered.

"It is beautiful," another deep voice commented from next to her.

Startled by the presence next to her, Lucy warily retreated from the stranger.

"Who are you?" she asked while keeping a safe distance from the person.

"You ask a strange question when before you desired to speak to someone."

"I wanted to speak to someone I know," she replied and then she frowned. "How do you know what I wanted?"

He chuckled, which rumbled throughout his tall frame. Lucy squinted her eyes at him, barely able to make out any of his features except that he was much taller than her. "Come into the light where I can see you."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Try me."

He moved to where the sources of light in the sky shined the brightest. Her breath caught in her throat when she made out caramel skin, black hair, and velvet brown eyes. He was handsome and he was garbed in clothing that was similar to what Ichigo was wearing.

"Are you a soul reaper?" she asked him while her gaze never left his exquisite form.

A knowing smirk crept on his thin lips. "You haven't been in Karakura Town for long and yet you learned the basics."

Her eyes narrowed on him. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"You're a quick learner and you'll need that skill to survive Karakura Town."

Her eyes widened with astonishment. "Wait, how do you know about Karakura Town or any of this?" She raised her hands in the air to signify their surroundings.

The smirk grew wider on his face and Lucy felt a tick form on her eyebrow. She wasn't one for violence but she wanted to smack the grin off his face. "You still haven't figured out where you are?"

She examined her environment and when nothing came to mind, she shook her head.

He sighed. "This is your world."

Her eyebrows tugged together. "My world?"

The smile disappeared from his face as he looked up to the stars. "This is the world in your mind. All of this," he waved his hands around him, "Is your creation."

"And you?"

"I am your guide to help you understand this world better."

Lucy inhaled a breath, almost afraid to ask the next question. As it was, she felt like the stranger before her had a deeper role to play than just being her guide. For some reason, she could feel a connection to him, almost like the one she had with her celestial spirits. "Is that all you are?"

He took his time to answer the question but when he did, Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. "No."

She licked her lips before questioning him again. "Then what are you to me?"

"You will find out soon enough, Lucy," he ended the conversation and then the stars in the sky began to wink out, leaving her with nothing but solitude in what was suppose to be her world.

* * *

Lucy was tossing and turning on the futon when Loke appeared in her room. Her legs were tangled in a white blanket. Her long blond hair was a disarray on her pillow. The strap of her sleeveless dress fell over one shoulder. She shifted on the bed, moving to her side. A slight whimper escaped her. Her eyebrows were drawn together on her pretty face, her cheeks were flushed.

She moved restlessly to the other side, causing his cheeks to tint in color. His eyes were drawn to the ample pale flesh further away from her shoulder as the other strap from fell down. He tried his damn hardest to look away as he placed a shaky hand on her shoulder.

"Lucy." His voice sounded too low in his ears.

"Lucy," he said with more force as he shook her frame harder, except he noticed that his hand gripped a massive amount of soft flesh.

He glanced down to the appendage on her body and his eyes bulged at what he was holding. In his large hand, he was gripping one of her breasts.

The door chose the wrong time to slide open and the eccentric owner of the shop and his assistant looked on with shocked eyes.

Momentarily stunned by the intrusion, Loke left his hand on the blond girl longer than necessary. He missed when Lucy sluggishly opened her eyes in the room.

A smirk spread on Urahara's lips. "I didn't know you're bold enough to make a move."

"It's… no-t wh-at you th-ink," he stuttered.

Then the room was blasted by a loud scream. The lion spirit covered his ears with his hands while the males by the door backed up.

"What the heck are you doing in my room?" she screamed out. She tried her best to cover herself with the blanket but it was a mess around her legs. Loke scrambled backwards afraid of her temper, which could rival Aquarius.

He lifted his hands into the air. Normally, he would smile flirtatiously at her and declare his never ending love but he noticed there was a tension in the atmosphere besides her nightmare. It pressed him to wake her up.

"Lucy, it's not-."

"Get out!" she pointed to the door with one hand while her other arms crossed over her busty chest as if to cover it. The movement caused his eyes to shift downward and he was met with a pillow hitting him squarely in the face. The force in which hit him made him hit crash into the wall behind him.

"Okay!" the blond owner replied. He disappeared from sight when the lion spirit staggered to his feet, clutching awkwardly to the pillow.

"Loke, get out!"

"I'm trying to!" If only he could maneuver the pillow to shield him from her chest.

"Out pervert!"

She was right. He was a pervert, especially with anything to do with her. And the view of her ample chest, despite the chain and hole, did nothing for him but to appreciate it. She was quite a curvaceous woman despite her petite form.

"Out already!" He finally made it to the door and dropped the pillow as he dashed to meet the other occupants in the shop.

"Wow, if we knew anything was going between the both of you, we wouldn't have interfered," the blond man with the funny looking hat said. He grinned dirtily at him. "How was it?"

"Shut up!" Loke roared before he turned around on the two men. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. How was he going to explain to Lucy that he wasn't trying to grope her?

Moments later, Lucy walked toward them with the bed sheet wrapped tightly around her body. One hand held a fistful of cloth in front of her. He was able to sigh when he couldn't see any of her soft flesh exposed to him, save her face, hands, and feet.

A fire burned in her dark eyes as she looked at him and the other men. She paused in front of them and he noticed for the first time how small she was compared to the three of them. A protective instinct rose inside of him.

"What the heck were you doing inside my room?" Her voice was laced with anger.

Again, he held up his hands and waved them in a panic motion. "It's not what you think," he tried to explain. "You were moving around restlessly in your bed."

The owner burst out laughing. Loke felt like he could breathe when she switched her attention from him to others. The man with the glasses and coils elbowed his friend. "You should stop laughing."

"I," he said in between his laughter, "told him we have another room for him."

Lucy shifted her glare on the lion spirit.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay," he explained.

"So you were going to sleep with me?" she asked him, her face turned red from the question.

The owner laughed louder to a point he fell on the floor. The assistant just stared at him.

With such a question, Loke's face heated up. Apparently, the blond woman took his lack of answer in the wrong way.

"You pervert!" she screamed at him.

She was going to hit when he motioned with his pointer finger to her knot. "That's not a good idea."

Her fingers tightened around the knot as she worked on trying to control her breathing. He tried to keep his gaze off her heaving chest while she calmed down.

She turned to look at the men. "Why were you at the door?"

The blond man stopped chuckling and straightened up to his full height. "We heard something."

Lucy gritted her teeth.

"Okay," the owner said. "We felt a strong aura coming from there."

"You felt it too?" Loke questioned the men.

The curvaceous woman frowned at the males.

"Yeah, and we were worried because it might attract more hollows."

Loke noticed his mistress remained silent during their exchange of words. He looked toward her, silently thanking that her mind was elsewhere. "Lucy?"

"Now, that you mention it, I was having a weird dream."

The lion spirit turned his head and warned the weird man with his eyes not to say another perverted comment. He smiled in return. Loke's jaw tense.

Lucy remained oblivious to those around her. "I dreamt of a dark world with light only coming from the stars."

She hesitated and immediately, Loke observed the change in behavior from the owner and his assistant. "What else?"

"There was someone else who told me there was a lot more I needed to learn."

"A lot more what?"

She shook her head while deep in thought. "He didn't tell me anything else."

"Did he reveal his name?" the eccentric man further asked.

"His name?"

"In this spiritual world, a name has a lot of power. It exposes a person's identity and their power. So, did he give you a name?"

Lucy, slowly, shook her head. "He just told me I was in my world."

The blond man and his friend exchanged a grim look at each other.

"What are you not telling us?" Loke asked, sensing the men were withholding information from them.

The owner inhaled a deep breath before gesturing to the floor. "You might want to sit down for this explanation because it's going to be a long one."

Loke nodded his head and proceeded to do what he was instructed. Lucy moved at a slower pace. It seemed her mind must still be on the awkward dream she had.

"Do you remember the blade Ichigo carried with him in his soul reaper form?" the weird man asked them.

Loke was the one to respond. "Yeah."

"Well, that sword is zanpakuto and it is the main weapon for a soul reaper," the owner halted before he continued. "Usually, the zanpakuto of a low-ranking soul reaper is called Asauchi and it does not have name, but the zanpakuto of a high-ranking soul reaper does have a name."

"So…." Loke couldn't connect Lucy's dream with the meaning of zanpakuto.

"If the person who contacted Lucy through her dream told her about it being her world, there's a chance that it might be her zanpakuto."

"What?" both Lucy and Loke asked in unison.

* * *

 **Fairy Tail**

It was a saddening day in Magnolia for Fairy Tail. Despite the destruction done on homes and businesses, one place in particular was in the lowest of the low. Fairy Tail, the magical guild, was partially destroyed yet Mirajane and Lisanna were able to create a temporary bar for their members to feel right at home.

The only problem was no one was in the mood to celebrate, even while drinking booze. They all lost so much during the fight with Tartaros, including Lucy Heartfilia.

She was the one who freed them when they were stuck in Tartaros.

But it was at a high cost; her death.

The initial shock hadn't hit them until the pink haired dragon slayer was slouched over her prone form. His head laid on her chest as he listened for a heartbeat when her body was returned to all the Fairy Tail members by none other than Gajeel. After the countless shaking and begging for the girl to come back to him and Fairy Tail, she didn't respond.

The day of her funeral, it rained. It was as if the sky was weeping for a lost nakama. Out of everyone, Natsu took her death the worse. As he watched her coffin being placed into the earth and people were dropping flowers over it, he couldn't take it anymore. He jumped into the grave and opened the coffin. Laxus, Gajeel, Bixlow, and Gray had to use their magic to restrain the dragon slayer. The sight of Lucy's still body getting drenched in the rain caused them to cry more.

"Why?" asked Natsu. They dragged him away from the funeral sight. Tears fell from his eyes as he slumped to the muddy ground. The rain drenched him and the other males. Laxus was glad that Natsu calmed down or else they would have to tie him to a tree.

Erza, Juvia, Master Makarov, Elfman, Mirajane and the others bowed their heads under their umbrella.

"Please close the coffin," one of the Fairy Tail members replied. When no one made a move to close the coffin, Gajeel stepped forward. He was the brave one who went into the hole and closed the coffin for good.

"Why her?" Natsu questioned in despair. All he had was pieces of the broken key that was found at her side. Levy gave it to him saying that Lucy would want him to have it since they were best friends.

"She did it to save our lives," the bluenette returned. She was at his side. Her umbrella was long discarded as her clothes got wet from the rain. She stooped beside him and put her hands on his shoulders to comfort him.

"But she shouldn't have been in that situation by herself." He brought his hands in front of him and stared hauntingly at it. "I should have never let her go." Then he buried his face in his hands.

"It's not your fault," Erza said, dropping her umbrella to the ground. "It's the demons' fault for what happened to her." She made her way to Natsu and also knelt next to him.

"We all will miss her," Gray said as he went to stand behind them.

"Yes, we all will miss her," Master Makarov said with a loud but sad tone. Everyone but Natsu looked over to him as he made his way to Lucy's grave. "She was courageous, kind, and a tenacious person. She was one of us. She will always be remembered as the brightest light in Fairy Tail."

Everyone sobbed at Master Makarov's last reply before the mud was pushed into the grave sight. The rain continued to slosh on the saddened figures as they watched the hole filled up with wet dirt. After, one by one the Fairy Tail members began to disperse. Only two figures remained by her grave; Natsu and his little flying companion, Happy.

His head lowered as wet pink hair was matted to the sides of his face. His eyelids drifted downward as his hands roughly clutched the soaked fabric of his pants. He looked so lost and alone. Happy drooped to the ground and silently wept.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Luce," Natsu whispered. His next words astounded Happy from his sorrowful state. "But I promise you I will do whatever it takes to bring you back." Natsu brought a clenched fist into the air. "I promise."

* * *

 **It's been a long time since my last update. A lot of things happened, mainly a writer's block, but I'm back to continue writing once again. Recently, I went back to re-watching Bleach and my inspiration to write this crossover has been reestablished. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and thank you for your support. Let me know what you think. Reviews are inspirational.**


	4. Connection

**Karakura Town**

"Wait, that can't be right." Lucy doubted the eccentric man's words. "I have celestial magic, not what you have."

He shook his head, his thin lips tilting upward. "Well, we have to wait for you to have more dreams."

"Dreams?"

"You said you met him in a dream, right?"

The blond girl nodded.

"Then you'll meet him again and if you do, ask for his name."

Her brows furrowed. "Will he give me his name?"

"Perhaps."

She didn't like what he was insinuating. The stranger in her dream, she felt connected to him like she felt with her spirits, she could feel his emotions. And if she were to touch him, she might get the same pleasant warmth she got from her celestial spirits. "What are you trying to say?"

"Zanpakutos are tricky. You have to appeal to its nature before getting a name."

Lucy smiled while she glanced at Loke. "That's not different than my celestial spirits, right?"

"Yeah," the lion spirit said. He blushed, recalling the time he sought her out before his final time on earth land. He put her through so much trouble when she restored his power from the celestial world.

The owner lifted his blond eyebrows. Feeling the need to explain, the pretty blond girl began. "When I gain a new celestial spirit, I need to make a contract. It's from the contract that allows me to summon the spirit. But you can say the process of forming a contract is the testing field between me and spirit."

The blond man shifted his attention between Lucy and Loke.

"Summoning him allows me to use his magic for my purpose but he stays in this world clearly on my magic."

"Zanpakutos are similar in that aspect. Depending on the owner's reiatsu and bond to his/her zanpakuto, a soul reaper's power is displayed. In the soul society, there are ranks. The captains of the thirteen squads have the highest reiatsu."

For some reason, the celestial mage was interested in Ichigo's power. "What about Ichigo?"

Loke eyed her weirdly but she ignored him.

"He's entirely different. His spirit resides in his human form yet his reiatsu is strong enough for him to have the same rank as a captain."

"Oh."

The large man with the coils added, "Because his reiatsu is strong, he's granted permission to be a substitute soul reaper in Karakura Town."

"Oh I see," Lucy whispered.

There was a moment of silence when Loke slightly coughed. "Urahara, now will be a good time to explain to my mistress the requirements of saving her life."

The celestial blond frowned as she exchanged looks between both males. "Sounds fair," Urahara said.

"What's going on?" she asked, uncertainty flickering in her brown eyes.

"When you chose to stay here, you chose to live."

Slowly, she nodded.

"We didn't discuss the requirements for saving your life."

She had a feeling she wasn't going to like what she was going to hear.

"The hollows and soul reapers can sense your aura because it's different. If we alter your aura, you'll become harder to detect."

"Can't you cover my presence in the same you do with your own?"

The owner coughed behind his hand. "I wish it is simple as how you say. You see, your magic is different from reiatsu. You can manipulate your magic with a certain form. We use zanpakuto and well, other forms of reiatsu to achieve our goals. Our zanpakutos are what makes our releases different."

Lucy was kind of following along. "Since your magic release is different from a reiatsu release we cannot use the items that conceal our aura on you."

The last part she understood.

"However, if we alter your aura into one of ours, we can hide you from the Soul Society."

"Alter?"

"He's talking about changing your power, Lucy."

Immediately, the blond girl's head moved in a negative manner. "No."

"But-."

"No," she interrupted him. There was no way she going to give up her keys for a new power.

The blond man exhaled. "Look, if you stay the way you are you're going to turn into a hollow. The hole in your chest is already a sign that you're losing your heart. It's only a matter of time before the chain at your chest disappears."

Lucy's hand, the one that wasn't clutching on the knot of the bedsheet, reached to touch the chain at her chest.

"You know what hollows are capable of. If you don't want to transform into a mindless bad spirit that consumes souls, then you have to…."

"Don't mention any more please." She put a hand in the air as a gesture for him to stop.

The owner shrugged his shoulders. The celestial mage bowed her head, some of her hair covered her eyes. Urahara took her quietness as his cue to get up. He motioned with his gray eyes to his assistant to leave the couple alone.

"Well, it's been a long night," he said as he slid open a door. "Tessia let's go."

The burly man with the glasses nodded his head.

"Good night." Both males left Lucy alone with her lion spirit.

"Princess," she heard him say.

"I can't do it. I can't give up my magic or you and my other friends." She clasped both hands in front of her face, almost in a praying motion.

"Your keys." She knew he was going to mention the state of her keys.

"You are here, right?"

"Yes."

"Then they're going to be joining us soon."

"Lucy."

"And when they do, everything will be like in Fiore."

"Princess."

"So there's no need to give up my magic."

"Lucy!" She felt hard hands clutched her shoulders and then she was being slightly shook.

"There's a good chance they might not be coming back here!"

His words made her still.

"I…." He let her go. "I didn't want to tell you but I'm here because I'm the only spirit directly linked to you."

Her lips began to tremble. "Wh-what are you saying?"

He inhaled deeply, his hazel eyes moving away from hers. "When you saved my life, my contract was bound to your lifeline. Somehow our bond grew deeper that I followed you after your death."

"No." She shook her head. "You can't… that can't be right."

"The keys are not reacting to your magic and me being here, I'm wasting what is left of your magic. Yet I can't return home with the others."

Her luminous brown eyes widened.

"Your magic is depleting. Either way, you're going to lose us."

"Shut up!" she yelled at him. She didn't want to hear any more information from him. She shot up to her feet, not caring if the knot that kept the bedsheet together came undone. She dashed into the room, the fabric drifting to floor behind her. By the time she made it to her room, she slid the door shut and sank into the futon while crying silently.

* * *

Lucy didn't know when it happened, but she felt herself falling back into a dream. Unlike before though, she could make out the layout of the river -calm and clear, see the stars twinkling in the sky, and see the trees in the distance.

Looking down at herself, she noticed she wore a long white dress that hugged the upper curves of her body and flowed around her legs. She frowned. Her bare feet weren't touching the ground. Why?

"I'm back here again."

"You will always return here," the other voice answered her.

Whipping her head to the side, she saw the tall stranger standing beside her. "Who are you?"

"I'm someone deeply connected to you."

She moved her head in a negative motion. "Only my spirits are deeply connected to me."

"Yes and no." He gave her a bizarre answer.

Scrutinizing him, she viewed his handsome profile. His facial features were sharp. His eyes were a milk chocolate color. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail. He still wore clothes that was similar to what Ichigo wore. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"In the other world you were able to freely summon your spirits. That won't be happening here because you're a spirit like them."

The blond girl folded her arms across her chest. "How come Loke is with me?"

"He's the only spirit who is bounded to you for life. The other celestial spirits have ordinary contracts with you."

"But I was able to summon them in Edolas when Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail couldn't use their magic."

The stranger rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you were alive."

"So, let me see if I'm getting this correct," Lucy said as she moved her hands. "If I was still alive I will be able to summon my spirits. Since I'm a spirit I can't."

"Your contracts were terminated the moment you died."

"No!" The celestial blond stomped her foot in frustration. "I refuse to believe any of your nonsense."

"I'm not doing anything Lucy," the stranger replied. "This is your world. Everything that happens here is all of your doing."

She huffed. "Trying to pin the blame on me."

He pointed to the horizon. The celestial mage focused to the area he showed her. Squinting her eyes, she couldn't make anything but darkness. Trailing her eyes along the blackness, she saw it. Five narrows lines. Her eyebrows tugged together. Walking, no, drifting toward the darkness, her eyes widened. The blackness got clearer and she could see forms, humans.

"Why do the look familiar?" she whispered.

Taking in their figures, one caught her attention. One had spiky hair. There was a shape of a scarf around its neck. Its face looked upward, hands reaching toward the sky.

"Natsu?"

"These are the people who got caught in your world," the stranger words drifted to her ears.

"It can't be."

"Yes, they are the same people who you long for and it's because of your emotions, they have been captured and sealed in darkness."

"No," the blond girl whispered while covering her mouth with both hands. Tears started to fall from her eyes unchecked. "No."

But the evidence was in front of her. The same Fairy Tail members she couldn't protect were covered in black tar like Tartartos. And since she failed them, they were stuck in the same pose for her to witness every time she came into what was supposed to be her world.

* * *

 **Fairy Tail**

Natsu didn't know where he was, but the place was dark. Closing his eyes, he could smell the earth. He inhaled a breath while taking a step forward. His bare foot sank into moist ground.

Mud.

Opening his eyes, he could hear swaying of the branches as a cold breeze past him. He looked up into the sky, taking note of the stars.

Why was he in such a place?

He decided to keep moving forward, perhaps he would find his answer by going somewhere.

He began making out the dark forms of trees and rocks, thanks to the light from the twinkling stars. He didn't know how much time stretched before him but he did notice that his feet were sinking deeper with each step he made. Stopping, he waited. Maybe walking wasn't a good idea.

He glanced over his shoulder.

Going back. He shook his head.

There was a noise ahead of him. It sounded like….

He took it as his cue to continue. One foot moved in front of the other. His hands fisted into balls at his sides. His magic whirled around him, the fire igniting easily about his form.

Then he paused at the sight in front of him.

He wasn't expecting to see her again.

"Lucy?"

At the call of her name, a blond girl dressed in a shimmering white gown turned to him. Brown eyes sparkled at him as the wind swept past both of them. His fire was easily distinguished.

"Lucy, no Luce."

Her blond hair grew longer the last time he saw her. It reached her hips. Her curvaceous form glowed with a natural light.

"Am I dead, Luce?" he asked. If he was, she was such a breathtaking sight.

She shook her head.

"Where am I? Where are you?"

She made a move to talk but then she glanced away from him.

"Luce?"

He walked toward her, trying to get to her when he felt his feet were sinking deeper into the ground.

He looked down, seeing the mud reaching his knees, dirtying his pants. He raised his head, his eyes scanning Lucy's form. Why didn't he see it before? The beautiful celestial mage was floating. The end of her dress remained clean.

"Luce?"

She lifted a hand to him, waving the appendage frantically in the air while moving her head side-to-side. Her blond hair swayed wildly with her movement. She was telling him not to come closer to her.

But he was stubborn. He lost her once, he wasn't going to lose her again. Determination filling his mind, he struggled to lift one leg and put it in front of his other leg. He went as far as to clutch his trousers, fisting his hand into the fabric and then using it as leverage to lift his leg as a large step.

The blond girl was desperately shaking her head at him, gesturing with her hands to stay back.

"I'm coming Luce!" he shouted at her.

He didn't hear her scream but she clearly mouthed the word "no."

"You can't stop me Luce!" He warned. "I lost you once! I can't lose you again! Fairy Tail needs your light!"

Her eyes glittered, the sparkles began to fall from down her cheeks. She was crying, Natsu realized. He disliked seeing his precious friend cry.

"Luce." He halted. Frowning, he looked down. The mud reached his hips, he couldn't move any further to her.

"Luce," he said again. "Where are you? Tell me!"

Determination spread through his body, fire igniting his limbs. The flames brightened his surroundings. For the first time he saw the background around him. What he saw captivated him and made him ill at the same time.

The was a river behind Lucy, yet the river was calm and beautiful. It reflected the night sky. But the sight behind the river caused dread in him. Still forms, like statues reflected on the river. Each of them looking familiar. One in particular caught his eye. Spiky hair, an arm reaching out to the sky. A hand and a face etched in despair.

Him.

Natsu's head moved in a negative manner.

The statue couldn't be him.

Quickly, his eyes flickered to the other forms. A womanly figure, long hair, sword in one hand, the other hand lifted. Erza.

There another form, a cat with wings. An imprint of cloth surrounded his neck. His face marred in sadness. Happy.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"It's her world," another voice answered. It was a masculine one he never heard.

Natsu's head whipped to the location on the voice. "You're the one keeping her prisoner here."

"No."

He reached inside himself, willing his magic to come to life.

"That won't work. Your magic means nothing in her world."

"Her world?" The dragon slayer frowned.

"Yes, this is her creation." The strange man put a long finger to his lips. He tapped the finger to his bottom lip. "Though I don't know how you came to be here."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"You don't belong here. You belong in earth land."

Natsu didn't know how to reply to his remark.

"It must be her power. She longs to see you that she made it happen," the stranger mused to himself. "She's more powerful than I thought."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"It means," the stranger smirked, "That I have a very formidable owner. Her diverse magic… well, it makes everything interesting."

The pink-haired male wasn't following along. In his eyes, the stranger was the bad guy. As if reading his mind, the man slightly shook his head. "I will never harm a hair on my mistress' head. Like her celestial spirits, I exist solely to serve her."

"But like her celestial spirits, they have a mind of their own."

The raven head raised his dark eyebrows. "Are you accusing her precious friends? She won't like what you're thinking."

"I don't like you," Natsu blurted out.

The stranger chuckled. "I can't say the same for you. You'll make things very entertaining for us."

The fire dragon slayer wanted nothing more than the punch the lights out of the man but he was immobilize.

"I guess she can't keep you here any longer," the man said while shrugging his shoulders. He raised a hand to wave at him. "Goodbye Natsu Dragneel."

His obsidian eyes widened. He never gave the raven-haired male his name. The mud began rising on his body or he was finding himself sinking deeper into the dark substance. He struggled, his hands grabbing at nothing.

He heard dark laughter. No, he couldn't leave Lucy with the stranger!

He fought harder. He tried to call forth his magic, but it was as if the mud diffused his flames.

"Lucy!" he shouted her name.

He extended an arm to her. She in return tried to reach him with her hand. Then the dark figure stepped in between them, obscuring his vision of her.

"Luce!" Natsu opened his eyes, his breathing was harsh. His fist banged hard against the wooden table, causing it to splint apart. He heard a sudden yelp and a blue feline flew away from him. Fear was evident in his little's friend's eyes.

He blinked several times. He rubbed at his eyes and took in his surroundings. Wooden tables, chairs, the bar -or what was left of it- and the Fairy Tail guild members staring at him with astonishment or pity. The rage ebbed away on his face. Fairy Tail. He was back at the rubbles of Fairy Tail.

Did that mean he had a dream of Luce?

"Happy?" he called his best friend.

The little feline was the only person brave enough to interact with him at the moment. "Yes."

"Did I fall asleep?"

The blue cat nodded his head.

"How long?"

"Uh... An hour."

"Was I...?"

The feline was his best friend for a reason. The fire dragon slayer never needed to finish his sentence for the little one to know his train of thought.

"You did say her name."

He bobbed his head. The destruction that Tartaros did to their guild left its mark. There was debris on the cracked floors. Stones were alongside where the walls used to be. Each Fairy Tail member worked on clearing the mess. Mirajane tried her best to make a temporary bar and using leftover resources created meals and drinks. The problem was no one had money and with the guild still rebuilding, no new missions came by the guild. As it was, the old man, Master of Fairy Tail, was away at a Magic Council meeting. They were giving him a hard time to continue Fairy Tail.

Although many of the members were somber, they did their best to reconstruct their guild and the homes of Magnolia's citizens. The homeless resided in camps.

Natsu's head moved in a negative manner. He was one of the few members that had his house intact since Happy and him lived outside of the Fairy Tail dorms. Laxus, Freer, Bixlow still had their homes too.

If Fairy Tail wasn't damaged, Happy and him would've packed their belongings and take a trip to further train. But Master Makarov wanted all his children to stay behind, clean the mess they made and face the consequences. Apparently, the Magic Council was blaming them for the dark guild's attack.

"There is no Fairy Tail without her," he mumbled.

Happy heard him and didn't deny his claim. The little cat felt devastated since her death.

Natsu sat down on what was left of the bench. Breaking the table also meant taking apart the bench too.

He had dreams of Lucy, mostly of her dying in his arms. The other dreams were of him trying to wake her up as she laid like a sleeping princess in her coffin.

He sighed, running a hand through his disheveled pink hair. He promised to bring her back to life. Only he didn't know how to go about acting on his promise. During his encounter with Zeref, the dark mage who claimed to be his brother, he learned the dark mage brought him back to life. Supposedly, Natsu was a demon.

Zeref might know a way to bring back Lucy.

Again, he exhaled a long breath. His hand slid through his hair.

Happy finally realized he wasn't going to throw another tantrum and drifted next to the fire dragon slayer. His little white wings vanished as he settled on one his friend's shoulders. Natsu acknowledged that Happy knew his mull.

The pink-haired male tilted his head to the side, his dark eyes flickering across the remains of Fairy Tail. Mirajane and Lisanna were making meals for everyone to eat. Gray, Erza and Juvia were picking up the heavy debris. Gajeel, Freer, Elfman and some of the other males began repairing some of the walls while the females swept the floors.

He was the lazy one. He just watched them as they worked. None of them dared to bother him. They used the excuse of Lucy's death to keep him from doing anything and he was glad for it.

He had more time to think.

His eyes kept wandering around the rubbles until he stopped at a blue-haired girl. His eyebrows tugged together. She wasn't working like the rest of them either. In fact, her head was caught in a book.

He watched with interest as her finger touched the surface of the paper, as though she was skimming through the details for some particular information. About what?

Squinting her eyes and slamming her finger on the paper, disappointment overtook her pretty features. Her fingers slipped to the next page, her eyes moving along the paper.

Before Natsu could stop himself, he was up and strolling in her direction. No one but Happy seemed to notice his encroachment on the petite female. By the time he made it to her, his shadow loomed over her, blocking her source of light.

She blinked and lifted her chin. Her mouth opened, insult on her tongue until her eyes widened at him. The fire dragon slayer would've smirked at her reaction. Clearly, she was shocked. "Natsu?" she asked after some time.

"Levy."

He sat down next her, his head lowering until his pink bangs covered his eyes. He used his draconic senses to see if he alerted any of the others. They all seemed engrossed at their task, especially the overprotective Gajeel.

He continued to sit in silence while the script mage fidgeted in her spot. Her fingers intertwined over her book. She bit her bottom lip.

Out of everyone in the guild, Levy had a way of collecting information in little time. An idea formed into his mind.

"Levy?"

"Umm… yes."

He might as well try to ask her for help, seeing that she was Lucy's best friend. "How much do you know about celestial magic?"

The girl's eyebrows slanted on her forehead. "Why?"

"I'm just asking."

"This has something to do with Lucy, right?" She turned to him, momentarily forgetting her nervousness.

"What if it did?"

"Natsu… you have to…."

"I thought you being her best friend meant you would do anything for her. I guess I was wrong."

He moved his shoulders in disappointment while keeping his face blank. He was about to stand up when Levy's hand clutched at his shirt. It was a bold move on her part considering that the other members were keeping their distance from him due to his emotional outbursts.

"Lucy was… is my best friend. I'll do whatever I can for her."

A grin grew on his face. Happy who witnessed their exchange gazed around the room.

"What if we can bring her back?"

The script mage's hand loosened on him.

He shook his head.

"We can't…."

Anger flared on his face. "You're not her friend."

"Yes." She took his provocation seriously. "She's- was my best friend."

"You have a weird way of showing it."

"Sit down please." Her eyes darted to the other members.

"Don't worry, they're not listening in on us." Sometimes it was best to do things out in the open.

He sat down. Seeing her calm down, she began. "What do you have in mind?"

"Celestial spirits, what do you know about them?"

"They have keys that allow their users to summon them. Each of them are unique, they have powers which they can use based on their user's wishes. However, there are restrictions on how they can be used."

"What about their life cycle?"

Levy frowned. "Not much. They feed on their user's power to stay here in earth land. If they get a devastating blow here, enough to kill, they return to the celestial world to heal."

Natsu smiled. "Can they come back?"

"If their user summons them after giving them enough time to heal, yes." It didn't seem like the script mage got his point.

"So they're immortal?"

Her eyes almost bulged. "Yes."

"Then it's perfect. We do more research on celestial magic."

The blue-haired girl nodded her head. The fire dragon slayer might have been grieving but he sounded like he was onto something.

"Are you willing to help me?" This was the most important question he needed to be answered.

His eyes switched to Happy who quietly witnessed everything. His little friend said, "Aye."

Levy also verbally commented. "Yes."

The fire dragon slayer's grin became wider on his face. Everything was set in motion.

* * *

 **Soul Society**

In a room with people typing on computers and information filling the screens, there was one in particular that caught the interest of one of the workers.

The dark-haired male stopped typing and stood a little from his chair. His green eyes scanned the room for his superior. Upon seeing him, he signaled with his hand to come.

The male in charge wore traditional Japanese clothing, a white vest covered his large frame and he was followed by a couple of his subordinates. He made his way to the person that called him.

"Yes, what have you found?" the superior asked the worker.

"A message came from one of the soul reapers sent as backup in District 3600."

Karakura Town was the heart of the greatest concentration of spiritual beings. There was recently a commotion involving a soul reaper failing a mission and breaking a law. It made District 3600 a more notable place to look out for.

"Play it," the one in charge ordered.

The other man nodded his head. He pressed a key and the message played. "Rukia Kuchiki from the 13th Division reporting an unknown source in District 3600. From my observation, the anomaly might be a lost soul. Waiting for further instruction."

The superior grimaced. "Lost soul?"

"This sounds important, sir."

The man in charge put a hand under his chin. "We're going to report this to higher-ups." Especially since the report was coming from Karakura Town and it was from a Kuchiki, who was one of the noble families in the soul society.

"Good job."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

 **I gather this is an overdue chapter. Also, just to reply to some reviews. Lucy's spirits play an important part in this story. They are the root to her magic.**

 **Hopefully you enjoyed reading it and thank you.**


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